Everyone who takes the Bible seriously believes in “The Rapture”!
Whether you believe what is historically known as “The Rapture” or whether it is imminent or pretribulational, you believe “caught up” in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 means something. The word “rapture” comes from the Latin translation of the Greek word behind “caught up” in that verse.
“Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”
My take is that it means what it says: “we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with (the believers who have died before that day) in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” If we read the Bible plainly (i.e., literally), I believe it supports this doctrine of a great “catching up” that will be a total surprise before the Great Tribulation. And notice that in the very next verse, Paul told us why he was giving us this prophecy: “Therefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18).
If you don’t believe it, I won’t question your salvation or call you a liberal or a heretic. But, if you’ve never really studied it, or if you’ve never really given a hearing to both perspectives, then please don’t question the salvation of those who do, or call us names. Deal?
Here are 10 reasons why I believe the Rapture:
1. Jesus taught the Rapture in John 14:2-3 by giving a different purpose for this “coming” than for the Second Coming (judgment, testing—Revelation 3:10; 19:15,16).
2. Paul taught the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, and that the normal sequence for people is to live, then die (“sleep”) then be resurrected. But some would still be alive and would be “changed” (51-58) when the “trumpet” sounds.
3. Paul taught that the Rapture would include both the living and the dead in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:2 and that the Rapture (“caught up” in this passage) was “imminent”—like a “thief in the night”. The Rapture is different than the Second Coming in this way also because the Second Coming is preceded by a series of detailed events that reveals an exact timetable (“Man of lawlessness” revealed, Covenant with Israel, “Abomination of Desolation,” etc.).
4. Paul taught in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 that the Holy Spirit (i.e., God, the One who holds back lawlessness) will be “taken out of the way.” This can only happen if the Church is “taken out” also. Note: The Holy Spirit will still be omnipresent and therefore people will be saved during the Tribulation. But God’s primary means of restraining sin is through the Holy Spirit working through the Church.
5. Christ promised the church at Philadelphia that He would “keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth” (Revelation 3:10). This was a message to “the churches” (v.13) and therefore is a promise for all “churches”.
6. The Church is pictured in heaven—represented by the 24 Elders (Revelation 4)—before the Tribulation begins (see above).
7. The Church is not mentioned during the Tribulation of Revelation 6-18, which supports the idea that the 24 Elders represent the Church—already in heaven before the judgment starts.
8. “The Bride of the Lamb” in Revelation 19 represents His Church (Ephesians 5:23). She is already there and dressed in white linen before the Second Coming. The “wedding supper” was the third stage in a wedding—after the bridegroom had already claimed his bride.
9. The Church (the “armies of the Lord”) return to earth with Christ at His Second Coming (Revelation 19:14)—they are already there!
10. The Second Coming of Revelation 19 and all other references in both the Old and New Testaments omit any reference to the Church being “caught up” as described in 1 Thessalonians 4.
Note: This is a brief list without a lot of explanation. For more serious scholarship on the subject of biblical prophecy (including The Rapture), please visit pretrib.org, the website of my friend and colleague, Dr. Tommy Ice.
